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With our Digital Innovation Observatories you can stay up to date on digital transformation and develop new strategic competences. You will have access to the knowledge of prime level experts from all over the world through an innovative multimedia platform.

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Collaborations between banks, technology providers, trade associations, logistics providers and fintech companies are multiplying, new technologies are spreading, such as Blockchain, Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence and the use of innovative solutions is gaining in strength. In Italy, Supply Chain Finance - the set of working capital financing solutions that can leverage the role of companies within the supply chain - is now a well-established ecosystem that involves many players, offers concrete opportunities for financing companies and is also becoming accessible to SMBs.

One year after approval of the law on Smart Working, the Report takes stock of the situation as regards the spread of Smart Working initiatives in private and public organisations in Italy. Research results and debates with the players involved are leveraged to conduct an in-depth examination on how Smart Working is changing the face of company facilities, its links with digital innovation, and the effects on productivity, people motivation, and satisfaction.

HR Management is increasingly aware of the ongoing digital transformation and yet there is a frequent lack of structured strategies to sustain this change, strategies formulated by building on the business plan, in order to develop skills, roles and leadership styles (People Strategy). The road still seems long, and challenging times await HR Management over the next few years: to help people adapt to a professional world which is changing as fast as digital technology itself.

Despite the economic upturn, Italy still has the dubious honour of having the largest potential market for Supply Chain Finance in Europe. How is the market (potential and served) for SCF solutions evolving in Italy and in Europe? What business models do the new startups in the sector use? How can new players, such as logistics service providers, find business opportunities in SCF? What is the evolutionary outlook for SCF, considering the impact of digital innovation?

Smart Working is a topic of interest not just in Italy, but internationally. Looking beyond Italian borders, we see that the concept is present, albeit with different names, characteristics and levels of maturity in many European countries. Indeed, the European Parliament “supports smart working” (Resolution of 13 September 2016, General Principle no. 48).
The most pioneering countries in Europe in the field of Smart Working include Great Britain, the Netherlands and Belgium, with examples of Smart Working initiatives in both the private and public sectors.

During 2017 the law on Smart Working was approved and more and more companies are experimenting with Smart Working, among the public sector and SME sas well, although in a different shape and form than in large businesses.

Digital transformation is entering into every area of people’s lives, changing how we live, learn, work and interact. It is a proper revolution, where digital innovation is calling the shots, changing the rules of the workplace and provoking an increasingly burning debate about their medium-long term implications for employment. The events taking place can be seen as a perfect storm, a driving force that is compelling organisations to innovate by putting practices and processes into discussion. The function of the HR Director is evolving within this landscape, taking on the increasingly important role of enabling the development and sourcing of key skills for organisations (digital or not) and of guiding the process of change.

The Italian context appears to be extremely attractive for the Supply Chain Finance market, especially due to the outstanding amount of working capital of Italian companies. However, some elements of investigation are necessary. Who are different actors that are entering this world? Which are their business models? Which are the costs and benefits of SCF solutions? How does a company choose the best solution for their suppliers? Which are the different sources of information that need to be taken into account when implementing a SCF solution?

2016 has been a pivotal year for Smart Working in Italy: in addition to the growing spread and maturity of initiatives, there has been an increasingly expanding awareness also at institutional level and today we estimate approximately 250,000 Smart Workers.

A big gap exists between the real world of business and financial word and this is an issue especially for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEBs), looking for new liquidity and credit access opportunities. But which are the main existing Supply Chain Finance solutions? What is the real value of the Supply Chain Finance market in Italy? Who are the main providers and how is the Italian situation compared to other countries?

Smart working is permeating through Italy, especially in large companies, 48% of which state that they have already introduced this practice, or expect to do soon in the short term. The policy is much rarer among SMEs, exercised in only 5% of these smaller companies. Local public authorities and central government are driving its introduction. The danger, however, is that smart working is brought in only because it is a hot topic, with the result that the implementation is superficial and nothing like the true concept.

The progress that HR Management must take towards a “disruptive” talent management model involves the planning of four levers in combination. These are: recruitment, performance management, training and career planning. The talent management journey is an assessment framework used by HR Management to evaluate the “as is” positioning with regards to these four levers and then to define the possible roadmap for advancement and innovation within the processes involving the development of human resources.

Banks were among the first players to recognise that the diffusion of mobile devices was exceptionally far-ranging, while being those most affected by the changes in the field. This meant that they had to evolve in terms of their offer strategy, providing banking services calibrated to the upgraded profiles of their customers.